Tag Archives: Joanna I

A look back (first published on 13 December 2015): I have made quite significant changes to this post – the skeleton is the same as the original but I have replaced much of the Angevin history with photographs. By the end of our two years in Naples I had visited this charterhouse so often that my library of photographs is more than my blog can hold. I hope you enjoy them, and that one day you’ll be able to visit the Certosa di San Martino yourself, because I know that my camera and I can’t do it justice.

The Certosa di San Martino and Castel Sant’Elmo dominate the Naples skyline

There are two chunks of prime real estate in Naples, two properties that swagger largest when you look up at the city from the sea. They’ve been together for centuries.

The highest of the two is Castel Sant’Elmo – the star-shaped fortress that looks like it’s been carved out of rock by a gifted sledgehammer. Right next to it is the Certosa di San Martino, proud when seen from below, but less obvious when approached by road.

Life is full of ‘bad days’ – if you think you’re having one of them, or even a calendar full of them, this book might help to put things into perspective. It’s a portrait of a lady whose days are potholed with treachery from the moment she’s born.

I read this book whilst in Naples, not far from the solid black towers of Castel Nuovo, or il Maschio Angioino (the Angevin Keep), where Queen Joanna (born in 1326 – died in 1382), spends much of her life.

The Certosa di San Martino and Castel Sant’Elmo dominate the Naples skyline

There are two chunks of prime real estate in Naples, two properties that swagger largest when you look up at the city from the sea. They’ve been together for centuries.

The highest of the two is Castel Sant’Elmo – the star-shaped fortress that looks like it’s been carved out of rock by a gifted sledgehammer. Right next to it is the Certosa di San Martino, proud when seen from below, but less obvious when approached by road.